DESCRIPTION (taken from the application): The overall goal of this training grant is to provide advanced training in research to qualified individuals with M.D., Ph.D. or equivalent degrees who plan to pursue academic careers with vested interests in the biology/physiology/function of bone cells, and skeletal homeostasis. The trainees will have the opportunity to develop original research protocols in the laboratories of faculty members with vested interests in these topics utilizing techniques which encompass the field of molecular and cellular biology, cell culture, cellular and molecular immunology, pharmacology, immunopathology and genetics. Independent research undertakings are supplemented by a variety of hourly/weekly seminars designed for either the presentation of research accomplishments by the trainee, or a review of the most recent literature by both trainees and faculty members. Clinical (M.D.) trainees are also assigned rotations in outpatient clinics of patients with either acquired or inherited skeletal disorders and attendance at a weekly bone biopsy review seminar. The Bone and Mineral Disease research milieu at the Washington University Medical Center and the clinical-research facilities of The Shriners' Hospital for Crippled Children offer a dynamic and unique situation wherein faculty members can interact and collaborate to insure the success of the research undertaking and the programmed development of the trainees.